Haley to serve Breakers in year two

PATRICK LAVERTY

Jim Haley, not Jim Healy as he was mistakenly identified in a news

brief last week, was introduced as the new general manger of the

Newport Beach Breakers Wednesday at Palisades Tennis Club, the home

of the local World Team Tennis franchise.

The director of tennis at SeaCliff Country Club in Huntington

Beach for the past 20 years, Haley began work in early December as

the Breakers march toward their second season in World Team Tennis.

A familiar face on the local tennis scene -- in addition to his

work at SeaCliff, he is responsible for creating and chairing the

Annual Top Gun Tennis Tournament and is an original board member of

the Private Tennis Club Association -- Haley was impressed with the

turnout at his welcoming party.

“There was a lot of support from people involved with the

Breakers’ first season,” Haley said.

Haley’s job is to increase that support over the next six months

before the second season begins in July.

“I think the one thing we’re going to attempt to do is change the

perception of the team, maybe not the perception, but we’re going to

try to get the name of the Breakers out into the community a little

more,” Haley said.

Helping Haley in that task will be Coach Dick Leach, who will

return for a second season, Haley said. The former USC tennis coach

will help put a face to the Breakers prior to the April 7 player

draft.

“Hopefully, we can have the tennis community look at the Breakers

as their home team and cheer them on like they would a baseball

team,” Haley said.

The league, run by Billie Jean King, will continue to own the

franchise and while Haley has not been guaranteed anything more than

this year, his job is to make sure the Breakers have the support

needed to make Newport Beach and Palisades Tennis Club a permanent

home for World Team Tennis in Southern California.

“I think they’re very serious about making this team work here,”

Haley said. “I think they saw the promise of this area last summer.

Now I think they want to make a bigger push this year.”

*

Taylor Dent, a former Corona del Mar High standout and a name

Haley certainly wouldn’t mind seeing associated with the Breakers

later this summer, fell to top-seeded Andy Roddick in the third round

of the Australian Open Friday.

After strong jumps in the rankings in each of the last four years,

Dent looks primed to make a big splash on the ATP Tour this year and

more than a few thought that might happen as early as this week, with

ESPN commentators predicting that Dent could give Roddick a run for

his money.

But after Dent took a 2-1 lead in the first set, Roddick showed

why he is the No. 1 player in the world, running off five straight

games to win the first set, blanking Dent in the second and taking a

6-2, 6-0, 6-2 victory.

It was the second straight major in which Dent has fallen to the

No. 1 seed. The 22-year-old performed well against Andre Agassi in

the fourth round of the U.S. Open in August before retiring due to

injury.

In his current position -- he was seeded No. 27 at the Aussie --

Dent will have to upset one of the top seeds in a major to get out of

the third or fourth round. His next opportunity to make a big splash

will come in the French Open, beginning May 24.

*

Palisades and the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club will play host the

Southern California Tennis Association Grand Prix Senior Masters next

week.

Play will begin at Palisades Feb. 4 in the 60-and-over divisions

and wrap up Feb. 6.

Local players involved include: Ron Hextel (Newport Beach Tennis

Club) and Pete Smith (Palisades), 60 doubles; Gene Nalbandian

(Newport Beach), 60 doubles; Irv Goldberg (Palisades) and Jerry

Robinson (Palisades), 65 doubles; Bill Hyde (Palisades) and Dick Doss

(Newport Beach), 65 doubles; John Peterson (Palisades), 70 doubles;

Jerry Greer (Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club), 80 singles; and Kathy

Hall (Newport Beach), women’s 75 singles.

Play at the Balboa Bay Club Racquet Club will include the 40, 45,

50 and 55 divisions and will begin Feb. 6.

Local entrants include: Peter Davidson (Palisades), 40 singles and

doubles; Kim Vieira (Palisades), 45 singles and doubles; Dexter

Godbey (Corona del Mar), 55 singles; and Anne Folks (Palisades), 50

singles.